Waverley Bowlo redevelopment headed to court

A long-running feud over the proposed redevelopment of the beloved Waverley Bowling Club is likely to end up in court, after Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club served the local council with a notice of appeal.

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A long-running feud over a proposal to redevelop Waverley Bowling Club, fought by residents and the local council since they were first floated in 2014, is likely to end in court.

Waverley Council and Eastern Suburbs leagues Club are set to face off in the Land and Environment Court, after the council was served with a notice of appeal by solicitors acting for the club on February 28 following a new development application lodged in December.

It was on public exhibition until February 25, with 250 public submissions made to Waverley Council, but the council has so far failed to assess the new plans.

That allowed Easts to serve the council with a notice of appeal on the grounds the application was “deemed refusal”, meaning it was not assessed within the prescribed assessment period of 40 days.

The run-down Waverley Bowling Club. Picture: John Appleyard

The application is likely to now bypass the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel and instead be ruled on in the Land and Environment Court, according to the council’s director of futures Peter Monks.

“Council will continue to undertake the assessment of the application and the submissions through the court process,” he said.

“As part of the appeal process, people who made an individual submission will be notified of the relevant appeal dates.”

It would be the second time Waverley has found itself in the Land and Environment Court this year, having already taken legal action to postpone the controversial demolition of the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park — despite the facility not being located within its boundaries.

Waverley Bowling Club remains a popular spot for locals. Picture: Craig Wilson

Mayor John Wakefield told the Courier in February the council entered the fight because of concerns about the potential impact of the stadium’s redevelopment on Bondi Junction.

Easts submitted its latest plans for a $83 million redevelopment of the 124-year-old club in the week before Christmas, prompting online fury from residents who believed it was a “sneaky” attempt to catch them unawares.

People voting against the proposed redevelopment of the Waverley Bowling Club at an extraordinary general meeting. Photo: Facebook

If approved the new development application would resign the club to history, replaced by a six-storey residential complex consisting of 90 units, a leisure centre, cafe and lounge bar, childcare centre, an aged care facility and communal green.

Easts had originally promised to upgrade the run-down club when they merged in 2010.

Club members famously voted down the plans at a meeting in August 2017.